Composed Spurs land a huge blow

Tottenham 2 Arsenal 1

Now, though, that sequence of failure appears set to end after Andre Villas-Boas marked the first anniversary of his last game in charge of Chelsea with a victory in the North London derby that felt enormously significant for both clubs.

Tottenham triumphed thanks to incisive finishes from Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon inside two minutes shortly before half-time and were helped greatly by inept Arsenal defending.